Joseph Paul Hatfield, Jr. passed away May 25, 2023, in McKinney, Texas at the age of 77. He was born to Joseph Paul, Sr. and Leila (Mentzer) Hatfield on August 31, 1945, in Baltimore, Maryland. Joe was beloved by his wife of over 14 years, Angel Qin, his family, friends, and former Wal-Mart/business colleagues.
Joe graduated from Roosevelt High School in St. Louis, Missouri in 1963 and soon after he followed his passion for retail merchandising embarking on a remarkable more than forty-year journey spanning the development of the retail industry in the U.S. and around the world.
He began his retail career with the Woolworth Company as an assistant manager and with his skilled merchant talents he quickly rose to become a store manager, moving to multiple store locations in Tennessee and Louisiana and moving up the organization to eventually run the highest sales volume store in the company. Catching the eye of Wal-Mart Founder, Sam Walton, and sensing the possibilities with this tiny retail company out of Bentonville, Arkansas – Joe joined Wal-Mart in 1974 as a store manager in Blytheville, Arkansas.
In 1976, Joe moved his family to Bentonville, Arkansas and became the toy buyer for Wal-Mart. As the company fine-tuned and rolled out discount stores throughout the south and central U.S., Joe held various corporate management roles including Division Merchandise Manager, Executive Vice President of Advertising and Sales Promotion, General Merchandise Manager over Hardlines embracing every new open door with passion and possibilities. In 1993, Joe took on a new role as Sr. Vice President General Merchandise Manager, moving over to the Sam’s Club division. As Wal-Mart looked internationally for expansion opportunities, in 1995 Joe was named the Vice President of Wal-Mart International, and President of Wal-Mart Asia where he led the green-field development of Wal-Mart Supercenter and Sam’s Club starting in Shenzhen, China. Joe pioneered the development of modern distribution/retailing across China that today spans hundreds of store/club locations, improved sanitation/food quality and inspired competitive innovation that has improved the quality of lives of countless China/Asia consumers.
In 2001, Joe was awarded Wal-Mart’s highest honor, the Sam Walton Entrepreneur Award for innovation and entrepreneurship. In Joe’s greatest and proudest moment of recognition, as he always did, he gave heartfelt gratitude to the remarkable and special associates of Wal-Mart. All over the world, there are so many who have been inspired, mentored, and loved by Papa Joe – as he was affectionately known. His light shines bright within all who knew and loved this very special man.
As President and CEO of Wal-Mart Asia, Joe retired from Wal-Mart in 2006. Joe loved Wal-Mart with all his heart. His greatest joy was to see associates grow and reach their personal and professional potential.
He was preceded in death by his mother and father, as well as two sisters: Beatrice Hall and Betty Tanner. He is survived by his wife, Angel Qin of Fairview, Texas; daughter, Michelle (Keith) Moore of Jackson, Tennessee; daughter, Stephanie Baker of Jackson, Tennessee; son Joshua Hatfield of Bentonville, Arkansas; daughter, Lisa (Joseph) Baran of Bentonville, Arkansas; and stepson Ling (Jane Zu) Zhang of Allen, Texas. He is also survived by 8 grandchildren; Brandon, Laura, Katie, and Austin Moore; Chelsey and Sarah Baker; Elijah and Isaac Baran; as well as, 3 great grandchildren, with one on the way; an aunt, Jean Cook of Hagerstown, Maryland; and sister, Sherry Hatfield of St. Louis, Missouri.
A visitation will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home in Allen, Texas.